Capt. Drew Russell was Army strong (letter)

I would like to applaud the staff of the Kalamazoo Gazette (especially Brad Devereaux) and the newspersons at WWMT for the excellent coverage of Capt. Drew Russell's heroic service in Afghanistan.

It is easy for the public to forget that the United States continues to be at war and our military families continue to pay an immense price for it.

We can go for weeks without hearing or reading about Operation Enduring Freedom. It's easy to skim over or miss the short reports about Kandahar. Unless we know a service member, our stakes aren't very high. We're able to go about our lives without thoughts of IED's and RPG's.

After 10 years of involvement in Afghanistan, many people are still unable to define these acronyms. However, if a military mom is asked to explain, she can tell you her deployed child is in the midst of improvised explosive devices and rocket propelled grenades every single minute of every single day.

Many people do not personally know Drew or his family. However, when a tragedy hits this close to home, it affects all of us.

Thanks to the Gazette for the well-written articles that allowed us to feel as if we're part of the Russell family. I commend the Gazette for calling attention to the war in Afghanistan and for allowing us to share the grief of losing a true American hero.